Many times, medical tubing is clamped long and short term with devices such as hemostats, roller clamps and pinch clamps. One problem with clamping is that after the clamp is removed from the tubing, the inner walls of the tubing become stuck together and the opening is partially or fully occluded. The occluded line restricts or stops flow of fluids to the patient.
The appearance of tube occlusion makes clinicians pinch tubing and massage the kink out and when tubing still looks occluded, clinicians discard the existing tubing and start a new one. If the restriction is not identified, line occlusion could lead to improper administration of fluids to a patient. The sticking of tubing after clamping ultimately results in lost time, increased costs and possible patient harm.